Workplace health and safety a challenge for the 1990s

Work-related injury and illness not only cause an unacceptable level of pain and suffering, but the compensation costs, on average, amount to 4% of payroll.

In 1991, the Ontario Workers Compensation Board (WCB) paid out more than $2 billion in compensation benefits. Business paid the bill. And those direct costs can be multiplied by a factor of four to calculate the indirect costs. That means it’s costing Ontario business something like $4 billion a year for health and safety.

The frequency of workplace accidents and illness in this province has also left the WCB facing an unfunded liability approaching $10 billion. And we know who is going to have to foot that bill.

Even in the best of times, businesses cannot afford such a massive financial burden. And, as you well know, these are certainly not the best of times. That’s why workplace health and safety must become the challenge of the 1990s within the business community across this province.

It’s that challenge, in part, that I want to talk about today. First, I want to bring you an update on what’s happening with the certification process. Second, I will briefly review the progress the Workplace Health and Safety Agency has made during its roughly eighteen months of operation. Finally, I want to suggest some advantages that can accrue to businesses that make a concerted, dedicated effort to improving workplace health and safety. Certification is certainly the hottest issue. I’m told if a Canadian book sells just 10,000 copies it’s considered a bestseller. Well, we’re about to change all that.

If the late Ed Sullivan was introducing this document, he’d likely say: “The Certification Training Program Participants Manual is going to be . . . a really big seller.” Once you see the book, I’m confident you’ll agree. The agency is also producing a student workbook to accompany the text and an instructor’s manual. We believe that when these are completed, we will be getting requests for copies from across Canada and from jurisdictions around the world.

Confident? You bet we are. The reason for our confidence — and when I say we, I mean the agency’s bipartite board of directors — is that the largest collection of knowledge about workplace health and safety ever amassed is being tapped to provide the material for these publications. The bipartite team that wrote the consensus content document in phase one of the project compiled more than 2,000 double-sided pages of information. The effort filled three binders.

Phase two, the writing and editing of the participant’s manual, workbook and instructor’s manual has already begun. These three books all will be written so that they are completely understandable to adult learners. The participant’s manual will be produced in book form because it is intended to provide a permanent reference source to help certified health and safety people to apply their knowledge in the workplace.

The workbook will include work sheets, case studies and other materials to be used during the training program.

The board has already seen preliminary drafts and graphics, and recently we approved moving ahead at top speed with this final phase of the core project. While Paul Forder and I are driving the project, all of the work is reviewed by the board’s bipartite certification committee in co-operation with the bipartite advisory committee. Of course, the board will continue to review the work at various stages of its progress.

In keeping with the bipartite nature of the agency, the phase-two project co-managers and the members of the teams working on each of the publications have been drawn from management and labor bodies. A mechanism is in place to ensure that there is consensus as the work progresses. In addition, there will be a peer review of the various chapters.

Let me share with you a glimpse behind the cover of the participant’s manual, at what its contents will include.

As I have said, the board has seen only a preliminary outline. The book is expected to be close to 300 pages. It will have 12-14 chapters. It will contain a comprehensive introduction to workplace health and safety and address a wide range of topics, such as legislation, health and hazard recognition, joint health and safety committees, investigations, research and so on.

The prospect of having more qualified, better trained health and safety people in thousands of Ontario workplaces will not only contribute to a reduction in workplace illness, accidents and deaths, it will help the bottom line of employers committed to the program.

The introduction into the workplace of certified health and safety representatives will demand a rethinking of how workers and managers interact. It will require a new spirit of co-operation and understanding among the workplace parties in ways that might seem unimaginable. Ten years ago what would you have said to someone who asked: Do you think we can get our people involved in quality improvements programs? Yet, since then, progressive managers have succeeded in introducing total quality management programs involving workers at scores of Ontario enterprises. And the bottom-line results have been impressive. While certification has been our number one priority, the agency has accomplished a number of vital objectives in the past year.

We launched a long-overdue study of the health and safety delivery system in Ontario. An independent consulting firm was hired to review the operations of the eight provincial safety associations, the three safety programs and the Workers Health and Safety Centre.

The consultants found instances of duplication and waste. They recommended a revamping of the entire system. The agency’s board of directors has formed a task force to implement the study’s recommendations, a move we believe will dramatically improve the delivery of health and safety education across the province.

We realize that musculoskeletal injuries are a growing concern to many employers. We have a team from the IAPA and the Workers Centre developing an ambitious program to help reduce the incidence of these kinds of injuries. We hope to introduce this innovative program on repetitive strain injuries into workplaces across the province in the spring.

As part of the agency’s community outreach program, board members have toured a mine in Sudbury, auto plants in Windsor and an Ontario Hydro nuclear plant near Port Elgin. We met and talked with management and worker representatives and heard, first hand, about day-to-day health and safety problems. In the health and safety research field, we have assumed responsibility from the Ministry of Labour for funding research projects. Several grants have been made for scientific research. And bursaries have been provided to a number of students entering health and safety programs.

We have developed vital links with other health and safety organizations and groups across Ontario and throughout the country.

As you know, when the agency was created there were a lot of skeptics who felt the

bipartite “experiment” was doomed from the outset.

I must admit there have been times when I’ve had my own doubts. But, to be totally candid, I have found the labor members of the board growing increasingly co-operative in recent months.

They recognize — as does the management side — that we have a job to do that can benefit our respective constituencies and that we have to get on with doing it. Bill 208 has provided the government with some tough muscle to enforce the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

In fact, the Ministry of Labour has made no secret of its intention to seek heavy fines when prosecuting people. And the courts are vigorously responding. For example, Canada Wood Specialty Co. was ordered to pay $75,000 and Eri Saks Investments Ltd. was fined $80,000 recently for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. These amounts represent the largest fines ever imposed in Ontario for health and safety violations. That’s why the agency deliberations on employer accreditation will be so crucial. Employers who are able to demonstrate they have adequate health and safety programs in place will benefit in a number of ways. For instance, by reducing the incidence of illnesses, accidents and deaths they will be cutting their WCB assessments.

Not only will there be a short-term reduction in the number of physical injuries and loss related to plant and equipment, but over the longer-term, employers should experience a reduction in harm or loss from chemical or biological substances, and practices that can cause musculoskeletal injuries. All of these things will contribute to a healthier bottom line, because many of the hidden costs associated with workplace accidents can be reduced. –Robert McMurdo is co-chairman (management), Workplace Health and Safety Agency, Toronto. The agency oversees, directs and funds all of the health and safety organizations in Ontario.

My own experience in business indicates that employers who make firm a commitment of health and safety can truly measure the results in terms of their bottom line.

You may ask, what constitutes a firm commitment? The best way to ensure success in health and safety is to develop and articulate a company philosophy. And that means a clear statement from the very top management level about what is expected of all employees concerning health and safety. With the corporate objective defined, the internal health and safety system must be managed by assigning leadership to those with direct interest and responsibility. In that way, you can ensure the system is applied fairly and equally to all employees.

The real acid test will be whether the system results in measurable, demonstrable performance improvements.

Of course, there will some initial, up front costs. But experience has shown that where a company is committed to designing a practical system, involving both labor and management, the results typically more than justify the investment.

In the present economic climate, anything that can help to reduce business costs is critical to survival for many businesses. I firmly believe that implementing sound health and safety practices can produce real savings. To those who fear the worst, let me say that the agency is not in business to put anyone out of business. It it was, I would not be here today. There’s no question that Bill 208 tossed labor and management in the ring. And yes, we’ve had our differences. And I suspect we will continue to disagree at times. But, the consensus process the board of directors has adopted in reaching decisions has demanded a rethinking of the way we interact.

In fact, I believe the agency is an example of what can be accomplished when labor and management are put to the test. We can work together. Much remains to be done. Our mandate is demanding and the time parameters critical. The Ontario business community and the province itself are facing unprecedented economic and social challenges.

The agency is cognizant of those challenges. And we are committed to working together to reduce the rising costs and personal tragedy associated with workplace illnesses and accidents by striving to improve the system which provides health and safety training.